Visual test apparatus



Feb. 5, 1935. w BAlLEY 1,990,218

VISUAL TEST APPARATUS Filed D80. '21, 1932 10 A Z2 scones \MBAILEY.

0- INVENTOR 11' BY 12 3 )5 -18 1/40A ATTORNEY Patented Feb, 5, 1935 i:

UNITED -Q jvrspanirns'r APPARATUS- q 7 e a t Geor'g'e w. Bailey, OortlandNJY; 7 Application December 21, 1932, I Serial'No. 648,256

54:01a (o1. ss ;20)

This invention relates to an improved means for determining the acuteness' of perception "on part of patients by the use of intermediary reference models of the manipulative type, and'rn'ore particularly pertains to novel apparatus adapted to test defective vision on part of children of preschool age, illiterate adults, deaf mutes, and others who cannot adequately be "served by conventional eye test means. 1 1 l As an inherent limitationof such conventional examination, the patient isobliged accurately to describe his observations to the examiner, where-" as by the use of my-impro'ved visual treatment, noresponsive vocal expressionis requiredyinstead, thepatient merelyindicateshis perceptions by selectively handling and finally picking'out' one of the several distinctive model blocks that inost'nearly conforms in shape to'the object then being exhibited upon a distantfrefer ence 'chart. The perimetric' contour of such reference blocks is-preferably trinnned to follow its characteristic representation. I

The present test procedure rests upona psychological basis in that where apatient is letter ignorant, his visual acuity can more accurately be verified by means of my selective symbolic meth 0d. In lieu of lettered charts, the treatment herein contemplated preferably'provides for a group of distinctive'silhouetted symbols-or assortment of demountable reference models of theindividual block type that are placed within sight and convenient reach of such immature patient. Instead of being obliged to describe. hislobservae tions in words, the patient is'preferably directed to a given distant test objectxand instructed or otherwise persuaded to recognize this exhibit in terms of a concretesmodel that issimilar in;sym-

bolic outline tosaid object, o

- My improved reference -,chart ,may be equipt' with a series of I different, graphic-representations or objects that are changeably mountedandare spectively corresponddn sharp blaclsgutline to some oneof the model symbols-Each such chart character may be individually, impressed invarious predetermined test sizes upon diiferentwhite cards or the like.' The examiner first selectively exhibitsone such object in line of the patients vision, preferably at a 'prescribedtdistancefrom thev eyeinconformity with the Snellen. standard quested to identify this particular object by han dling and choosing from the'various models, the counterpart which appears fmostjnearly to cor-- respond in outline with said exhibited object. As a further'refin'e'mentin method the symbols of graded sight testing. The patient is then re of my various reference models may asa group be laterally offset from the aforesaid line of vision and 'arrangedt'o lie in a common'plane that. is

kept substantially.perpendicular to said line. As will'be. understood, the, graphic representations herein utilized preferably relate to common household articles, birds, animals,'etc., likely to be quitefamiliar to a small'child, although alphabetic letters may also be resorted to.

After having successively'changed the size of a given chart symboland repeatedly modified the outline thereof, the resulting findings ,generally enable an experienced examiner to duplicate the measurements obtained by the usual eye testing method, notwithstanding that the, patient maybe unable to read or be still too young to effectual 1y respond to the conventional reference letters.

The eye test herein devised is predicated upon the astu'teness of a child in recognizing and-discriminating between distinctive shapesof such distant objects in terms of an identical model .outlinegclose at hand. I have found that the average child is capable of properly satisfying saidtest, which in turn has enabled me to'correctly prescribe needed eye glasses for such special patients.

The objectof my invention is to-provide for a simple eye test methodof the character indicated andto contrive the necessary-instrumentalities by which it maybe efficiently executed. To this end, and the accomplishment of other new'and useful results having to do with the measurement of comparative acumen, as applied to-eye testing purposes, said invention further consists in novel features of structure and manipulation,; -,all of which will. hereinafter be more fully setforth. 1

,Reference is had to the accompanying one sheet of drawings which is illustrative of an'exemplification of my invention, and in which: 1, Fig. l 'is a perspective viewof a model holding cabinet .placedin a cooperative relationship with my distant test chart. 7

Fig.2 shows an enlarged perspective detail of said chart, while Fig. 3 represents a similar view of said cabinet having, its slidable tray erected into operative, DOsition.

, Fig. elillustrates certain structural features of my'cabinetas taken along line 4-4 of Fig.3; and Fig. 5 cross-sectionally shows the collapsed cabinet and cover "assembled for transport or storage purposes. a e Fig. '6' shows in perspective a model that is trimmed to correspond with its distinctive pro;

Referring now in detailto said drawing, the" numeral 10 designates a model cabinet of open top, box shape having a relatively fiat tray or block carrier 11 shiftably mounted therein. The

sidewalls of said cabinet may be fabricated from adjoined mouldings shaped to form an endless guide groove 12 that is interiorly undercut in the region of the base board 10A. The tray may be provided with a pair of trunnions such as 13 that respectively slide in oppositely disposed groove portionsfl Inaddition, the bottom of said tray may be equipped with a pair of equalizing guide links such as 14 that are respectively hinged;

to the cabinet base board to allowof said tray being bodily shifted without cocking from erected position, (see Fig. 3) into collapsed positionas in Fig. 5, or vice versa. V n v When collapsed, the traylies contiguousand parallel to said base board and is designed to provide for a storage space thereabove. Thetray may beequipt with one or'more partition strips such as 15which divide the upturned trayinto elongated block compartments. In erected position, each such strip serves as a shelflike ledge upon whichto demountably support an assortment of independent flat blocklike models such as 16. A stop lug 17 "carried upon the base board, retains the tray in" erected mid position and also provides'for cabinet space into which any discarded models may be dropped.

Bybodily lifting the erected tray away from the stopand swinging its bottommost end forward ly, saidjtray together with the various reference blocks may readily be let down into the cabinet without allowing the descending rows of thin blocks to drop out of place. The several blocks may be respectively providedwith dowel or other.

retaining means 18 serving to spacedly locate the same lengthwiseof the supporting ledge.

Each model represents a'distinctive silhouetted symbol of the kind previouslydefined, which is preferably imprinted in heavy black outlineand mounted upon an, easily handled wooden block or the like. The-outline of each suchsilhouette is'preferably cut out by scroll saw means to emphasize the characteristic perimetric shapegiven thereto in the fashion detailed in Fig. 6. -In operative position, the respective models lean inwardly against the erected tray and are placed in a slightly offset relation'below the line of vision but within convenient reach of a seated patient in the fashionindicated in Fig. 1

Details of a suitable reference chart are shown in Fig.2, this being preferably embodied in the removable covermember 19 adapted to close the open top of my cabinet. The cover interior may sustain a plurality of retractible spur loo'p'sl ZO releasably hold'a selected card in operative po-' sition for test purposes. In accordance with the Snellen standard of eye measurement, a certain prescribed size ofobject is employed in relation to the distance at which said object is to be 10* cated from the observer, and this in turn serves as an arbitrary unit of reference for normal vision. graded in size of outline and made comparatively larger or smaller than such standard in conformity withgeneral recognized'test methods. As will be understood, the examiner endeavors to improve the patients natural or unaided vision by the application of different spherical test lensesin the customary manner and -deter- The similar duplicate cards are then mines theresulting'oualityfof vision'by the pa-.

tients performance in selecting an appropriate reference block.

It will be observed that my erected cabinet is placed vertically ahead of the patient while the cited reference chart is mounted at a prescribed serving as a The required equipment having been depicted and explicitly described, it is thought the. intended .mode of utilizing the same will be apparent to those skilled t a t o Torecapitulate, after a certain symbolic object of relatively large size has been exhibited and the patient has :correctlyinterpreted the same by choosing the model corresponding thereto, the

distance therebehind and faced toward the patient, amountingtable 23 here spacing medium therebetween.

examiner thereuponchanges the exposed chart card to a smaller sized ordifierentobject and repeats-said test until; the desired-degree of visual acuity has j been ascertained. In finally checking and fitting the flnished eye glasses, the patient may again be subjected to a like cornparative treatment, it being obvious; that; one eye; is normally covered while theother is being tested for vision;

After aneyetest has been completed my device may be compactly stored away by--latchingthe-complementary clips; 22 over the free card ends, and assembling the cover in place ,asdn Fig. 5. The height of the, cabinet sidewalls is preferably made sufliciently deep to allow the split stack of cards toilie face downwardly over the collapsed tray, asshown'inFig. 5. I .The method herein; advocated is;:peculiarly fitted for .testing the) eyes of smallerchildrensincethedeflned procedureis in the nature of a game likely. to prove of interest. and makes.v no demands beyond the range of v their limited ex.- perience, .The described block medium mayllalso be utilized to measure the'visual 'acuity of foreign personsior deaf mutes who may be .un'able to understand the spoken directions of anexaminer; in which event the required simple interrogatories may be carried on -byfisign languageiormanual interpretation. method is also applicable-to certain" purposes other than prescribing eye glasses, and may with "advantagebe employed in kindergarten or the like teaching work to detrmine or train the acuteness of 'perception-in certain pupilsr- It, is believed that the foregoing "specification when read in connec ion withthe accompanying drawing, makes evident the. intended purpose; the preferred .manipulation and [advantages re sulting from my improved mode of determining visual acuity .or the like, acumen on partjof special: patients, itjbeing" understood that the novel features thereof are subjectfto widela'titude in practical application and that the described job-H jects may be, suitably projected upon a screen or mirrored in the conventional. manner, also that various other modifications may be resorted to n acc n hms th ndin iewr w ho de each such block being given a distinctive repre-, sentation, and chart means including a detachable cover member provided with a stack of object cards respectively corresponding in outline to certain of the block representations, said cover serving to close the cabinet after the carrier has been collapsed.

2. An eye testing apparatus comprising an open top cabinet equipped withtray means, manipulative reference models demountably arranged upon and independently removable from the tray and which models are each given a distinctive representation, and a detachable cover member serving to close the cabinet and which cover includes a stack of changeable object cards respectively corresponding in outline to certain of the model representations, said chart means being placeable in a distant cooperative relation to the tray so that all the models and one of said objects fall within the field of vision of a common observer when the models are kept within reach to allow the observer to select therefrom the particular model that most nearly corresponds to I the aforesaid one object.

3. An eye testing apparatus comprising means for mounting thereon a group of assorted intermediary reference models that are independently removable and each given a distinctive representation, and chart means provided with changeable objects respectively corresponding in outline to certain of the model representations and which chart is placed in a cooperative distant relation with respect to the group of reference models, all of said models and one of said objectsfalling within the field of vision of a common observer and which models are kept within reach to allow the observer to selectively remove the particular model whose representation most nearly corresponds to said one object. I i

4. A test apparatus comprising means mounting an assortment of separable silhouetted reference blocks that are each given a distinctive profile shape and which blocks have their respective perimetric contours formed to correspond to the profile shape given thereto, and chart means provided with changeable objects that respectively correspond in outline to certain of the aforesaid profile shapes, and which chart is placed in a cooperative distantrelation with respect to said assortment of reference blocks to fall Within the field of vision of a common observer.

GEORGE W. BAILEY. 

